Betrayal
by luv2write89
Summary: A police officer is killed responding to a call and Castle and Beckett are placed on the case. It looks like an open and closed case but as details begin to emerge, a darker picture takes form. Full summary inside, better then sounds.
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

A New York police officer is killed while responding to a call and Castle and Beckett are placed on the case after being requested by the mayor. As the investigation progresses, it appears to be an opened and closed case but soon details begin to emerge that lead to a darker picture. As they dig deeper into the case, Castle and Beckett soon find themselves in a desperate chase to apprehend the real killers before they strike again.

Note: Hey guys, hope you like this! Tried to make it as realistic as possible and I apologize in advance if I made in error in the street names or directions. Enjoy!

Also, 10-34 is code for robbery in progress.

* * *

Officer John Wilson turned right from East Houston Street onto 1st Ave as he headed towards the precinct, having completed his first shift without a training officer.

He had just gotten off of the mandatory probationary period, having to endure six long months with a senior officer directing his every move. His senior officer had been Officer Patrick Cleary, a nasty old man who got a kick out of torturing new recruits. He had constantly bullied and belittled him, making him second guess almost every decision that he had made.

But now that was all over and he'd never have to deal with the miserable officer again. His first day had gone well and he was looking forward to being done for the day, getting home to his beautiful wife and baby girl.

He'd taken this job to help support them, knowing that policing was an essential service and he had a pretty secure job. His wife had just been let go at the hospital and so he was their main source of income now.

Suddenly his radio crackled to life as he turned it up, listening carefully as dispatch made a broadcast.

"Attention all units, there's been a report of a 10-34 on the corner of Bond and Bowery. Woman called in, said her and her husband are being mugged and need assistance immediately. Suspect is said to be armed and dangerous. Extreme caution should be used."

Realizing he was just around the corner, John lifted up the mic to his mouth, pressing down on the button as he quickly replied, stating he was closest in the area and he'd investigate.

He knew he could have just kept on going to the precinct as he was off shift, just wanting to see his wife and daughter at the moment, but he knew this couple needed help immediately.

He turned left quickly onto East Third Street and headed down it, towards Bowery. He stopped at the light, quickly looking both ways as he turned left onto the street.

A few seconds later he had arrived at the intersection of Bond and Bowery, ignoring the one way street as he drove onto Bond, pulling the cruiser over to the side.

As he looked ahead, he saw a young woman standing a few feet away. She was dressed in a formal, knee length royal purple dress, paired with a nice pair of black heels.

Her straight light brown hair was tousled as her face was tear- stained and he quickly climbed out of the cruiser, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Ma'm, are you the one who called in about the mugging?" He called out as she walked over to him.

"Yes, please you have to help. . .you have to help my husband." She sobbed as he quickly moved to her side, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Where is he?" He asked in concern.

"Down that alley . . . we were walking home from the opera and. . . this man just jumped out at us. . .he. . .had a gun and Luke. . .Luke said to run, to call 911. . ."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three gunshots echoed loudly through the night air, John's hand immediately going to his gun on his holster, other hand to the mic attached to his shoulder as he pressed down the button.

"Shots fired, I repeat shots fired on the corner of Bond and Bowery street. Requesting backup." He said, urgency in his tone.

"LUKE!" The woman screamed hysterically as she turned to go towards the alley but John grabbed her arm, turning her to face him.

"Ma'm, you have to stay here." He demanded as she shook her head.

"My husband. . ." She began.

"It's too dangerous, alright? Get somewhere safe now." He said firmly as he withdrew his gun and the woman nodded.

He moved towards the brick building quickly, pressing his back up against the wall as he crouched down, moving forwards slowly with his gun held at his side.

Adrenaline was rushing through him, his heart racing as the blood pounded loudly in his ears.

This was his first shooting he'd been to, not knowing what would happen when he walked into that ally. He should wait for backup but by then it could be too late.

He approached the end of the building, pressing up against the wall once more as he peered around the corner quickly.

Lying on the ground a few feet away was a man in a tuxedo. He was lying deathly still as a second man, wearing a grey hoodie and jeans, was knelt down beside him.

A gun was in their right hand as John watched them pull a wallet off of the dead man before they leaned back out.

Letting out a deep breath, he quickly turned into the alley, bringing his gun up at the same time as he aimed it as the suspect in the hoodie.

"NYPD, drop your weapon!" He shouted as the suspect looked up at him from the ground, a look of surprise and anger on his face.

"I said drop it now!" John repeated, trying to remain calm and cool, while inside he was shaking with fear and nerves.

The suspect nodded his head, slowly placing the gun on the ground before standing up, raising his hands half way in the air.

"And the wallet. . ." John motioned at the ground with his gun as the suspect rolled his eyes and dropped it as well.

"Good. Now turn around slowly, get down on your knees and place your hands on your head. Do it now." John demanded as again, the suspect complied.

He grew a little suspicious at how easy this was going, but he wasn't going to complain as he took a step forwards towards the suspect.

He removed his left hand from the gun, keeping it aimed at the suspect, as he reached for his handcuffs, taking another step forward.

"Alright, now. . ."

BANG! BANG!

Gunshots rang through the air once more but this time, they had come from behind him as John grunted out loud, pain shooting through his chest as he looked down in confusion.

Blood was slowly seeping out of a bullet hole that lay directly in the center of his chest and he opened his mouth in shock, making a chocking noise.

"Should have stayed home officer. . ." A woman's sultry voice called out from behind him as he staggered to the side, forcing himself to turn around, eyes wide with shock and betrayal.

The woman in the purple dress was standing at the entrance to the alley, gun in her hands as she was smiling at him coolly.

"You. . ." He began but the pain was too much, forcing him to drop onto his knees heavily as his gun slid out of his hand, onto the ground.

This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening . . . his brain was still trying to register the fact he'd been shot, let alone set up.

He heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind him as he watched two men walk over to the woman, the man in the tux and the one in the hoodie, as she embraced them both in a hug.

"Amazing, as usual." He heard one of the men say before he let out a loud gasp, falling onto his face as his hat toppled off his head. The right side of his face was pressed against the cold, hard ground as he stared ahead at the wall, mouth opening and closing in shock as he let out short, ragged breaths.

He could feel his body twitching spastically as he knew he was dying, darkness creeping at the edges of his vision.

He blinked slowly a few times before forcing himself to raise his head up, looking ahead.

They had left already, knowing more cops would be on their way but it would be too late for him.

He looked to his right to see his hat lying on the ground and he stretched out his right arm, grasping the hat in his hand.

He flipped it over, fingers grasping for the picture he'd tucked into it as he finally got it out, unfolding the picture.

He stared at his beautiful wife and daughter, a tear sliding down his face as he kissed it.

"Love . . .you. . ." He rasped before clenching the picture tightly in his hand, his head falling against the ground once more as he didn't have the energy to hold it up.

As he stared ahead at the brick wall in front of him, he inhaled one last time before letting out his final breath, the life leaving his body as he went still.

His lifeless, vacant gaze stared ahead at the wall as the pool of blood collecting under his body spread outwards slowly. . .


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later. . .

Castle Residence

Bzzz . . .Bzzz . . . Bzzz . . .Bzzz . . . Bz . . .

Castle groaned as he rolled over in bed onto his stomach, the right side of his face pressed against a pillow as he forced his eyes to open.

He could just make out his cell phone on the stand beside his bed as it was vibrating, the screen lit up.

He forced his head up as he reached over for the phone with his left arm.

His fingers fumbled with the phone for a moment as he finally picked it up, squinting at the screen as he worked on making out the time.

As he did, his eyes widened as it read 5:00 a.m. Who could possibly. . .

He pushed the reply button as he brought the phone up to his ear, head falling back against the pillow as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax as he could feel his body drifting back to sleep.

"Hello?" He mumbled a reply.

"Castle, wake up. I need you here right now." Beckett's voice replied as his eyes flew open, instantly alert now as he rolled onto his back, sitting up in bed.

"What's going on . . . are you okay?" He asked as there was a pause from the other end of the line.

"I'm fine, it's. . . a cop's been killed." She said as he could hear the emotion behind her words.

"I'll be there right away. Address?" He asked as he cradled the phone in between his neck and shoulder, getting out of bed as he headed for the closet.

"It's on Bank street, near the intersection of Bowery." She said.

"Alright, I'm on my way." He said as they both hung up.

He quickly got dressed before exiting his room, quietly making his way down the stairs as he headed towards the door.

"Dad?" He turned around to see Alexis sitting on a stool near the island in the kitchen as he gave her a small smile.

"Hey sweetie. I gotta go, got a case. A cop's been killed." He said as her face softened.

"Go.' She said softly as his hand rested on the door handle, looking at her more carefully.

"You look like you want to talk about something." He said as she walked over to him.

"It can wait. Go." She urged as he nodded, quickly giving her a kiss on the side of her face before he turned and exited the apartment.

At the scene . . .

Castle ducked under the crime scene tape spanning across the alleyway as he looked ahead to see Kate, Esposito and Lanie all gathered around a body lying on the ground as it was partially hidden from his view.

As he approached them, Esposito and Kate turned around to look at him, Lanie staying crouched down beside the body as she was examining it.

The two of them stepped out of the way and Castle got his first glance at the dead officer.

He was young. . .just a kid. Looked no older then twenty.

He was lying face down on the ground, head turned sharply to the left as he was staring vacantly at the wall, eyes devoid of the life they'd once held.

His uniform hat was lying a little to the right of his head, right arm outstretched as he was clutching something in his hand.

A large pool of blood had gathered underneath him as Castle finally tore his gaze away from the body to look at Kate and Esposito.

He could see tension in their faces, both of them visibly upset as he decided it best to just skip the banter.

"Who is he?" He asked.

"Officer John Wilson. Kid was just twenty two years old. He just got his training wheels off too, working his first shift without a training officer. He was responding to a call out about a mugging when this happened. . ." Esposito said as Castle looked back down a the young man.

"Killed on his first shift working by himself. . .that's rough." He said quietly as Esposito nodded.

"Yeah, well technically he was off shift. Figure he was on his way back to the precinct when the call came in. He said he was closest so he'd take the call. Maybe ten minutes later he called back, saying shots had been fired and he needed assistance." Esposito said.

"How'd he die?" Castle asked as Lanie looked up at the three of them, quickly getting to her feet.

"Two gunshots to the back, close ranged. Judging by the pool of blood underneath him, he died here but I can tell you more once I get him back to the morgue." She said as Kate nodded.

"Thanks Lanie." She said.

"Mhm." Lanie replied.

"So the officer gets the call, responds to a mugging in an alley. He sees a man being attacked, rushes in to help. The mugger turns his attention to him, the two tousle and the mugger's gun goes off. Somewhere the officer gets the upper hand, stunning the mugger while he takes the time to call it in, but the mugger shoots him twice in the back after the call." Castle said.

"Makes sense." Kate said as Esposito and Lanie both looked at her, raising their eyebrows.

"What? It does. I can agree with Castle occasionally." She said defensively.

Meanwhile Castle was looking at the officer's right hand, wondering what he was holding onto so tightly at the time of his death.

He crouched down again, reaching towards the officer's hand but suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, yanking him back.

"Castle, don't touch." She said sharply as he looked up at her, slowly standing up.

"He's clutching something in his hand." Castle protested.

"Could be evidence. Better have someone with _gloves_ grab for it." She reminded him as he nodded.

"Probably a better idea." He admitted sheepishly as Kate looked at Lanie.

"Already on it sweetie." Lanie said as she knelt down, leading over as she gently unfolded his hand, removing a small wallet sized photo.

"What's the picture of?" Kate asked her as her, Castle and Esposito watched Lanie's face darken.

She shook her head, turning the picture around as they leaned in closer to get a look.

It was a picture of a young, blonde woman smiling, a little blonde haired girl sitting on her lap as she had a big grin on her face, eyes shining.

"He had a wife and a daughter." Esposito said softly.

"Sunnuvabitch." Kate swore as Castle felt anger beginning to grow, thinking about a little girl growing up without her father.

"We need to find the bastard who did this." He said, voice tight with anger as Kate looked over at him, nodding her head.

"We'll get them Castle but first we need to find that couple that was attacked. They can probably I.D. the guy responsible for this. Esposito, after you and Ryan are done canvassing here I want you to check with dispatch about the woman who called in the crime. See if you can trace her phone, find an address. Castle and I will go talk to the wife." She said as he nodded.

"Sure thing." He said as he turned and walked away, Kate turning her attention back towards the young officer.

She was not looking forward to to telling his wife that her husband was never coming home. . .


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! here's the next chapter, enjoy. . .

* * *

A few hours later. . .

Kate pulled the car over to the right side of the street as she placed it in park, turning her head to the left as her and Castle looked at John Wilson's house.

It was a small townhouse located in a large survey, other townhouses surrounding it as they were all disconnected from each other.

The Wilson's townhouse looked the nicest by far, as it was a simple two story townhouse with new dark blue siding along with a nice, clean front porch.

The front lawn had been recently cut, a tricycle lying abandoned on it as there was a walkway leading from the street up to the front steps of the porch.

To the left of the house was a small driveway, an older model black Pontiac Sunfire parked there as Kate opened her door, Castle following suit.

The two of them shut their doors behind them as they headed across the street, stepping onto the sidewalk as they continued forwards.

They walked down the walkway before heading up the stairs, stopping in front of the front door.

Kate let out a deep breath as she leaned forwards, knocked a few times on the door before she leaned back out, folding her hands in front of her as they waited.

A few seconds later they heard the sound of footsteps approaching, a woman's voice calling out from inside the house.

"John, is that you? It's about time, where have you. . ." The door swung open, revealing a petite blonde haired young woman, looking slightly surprised as she looked at them.

She was dressed in a form fitting navy blue NYPD t-shirt along with a pair of light blue jeans. Her straight blonde hair fell to her shoulders as her bangs were pinned back.

"I'm sorry for that, my husband was supposed to be home a couple of hours ago. Can I help you?" She asked politely as Kate felt a wave of guilt run through her as she was about to destroy this woman's life.

"Kristen Wilson?" Kate asked as Kristen nodded.

"Yes?" She said.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, this is Richard Castle. May we come in?" She asked as she watched Kristen's face pale slightly, her blue eyes full of concern as she nodded her head, taking a step back.

Kate and Castle walked inside as they were standing in a small hallway.

There was a staircase a few feet ahead of them, pressed against the left wall as to their right there was a large doorway leading into a living room.

Kristen closed the door behind them as she turned around to face them.

"Is this about. . ." She began.

"Mommy!" A little girl's voice called out.

"In here sweetie!" Kristen replied as seconds later, a little girl came running into the room, Castle taking a step back as she ran over to Kristen, hugging her leg before she turned to look at Kate and Castle.

Her eyes widened as she quickly moved so that she was hiding behind her mother, clinging onto her tightly.

She was wearing a light pink t-shirt along with a pair of jeans, her blonde hair pulled back into two pigtails, her big brown eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, she's a little shy. Josslyn, say hi to the nice police officer's." Kristen said as Josslyn peeked her head out, giving them a shy smile.

Castle took a step forward as he crouched down in front of her, Josslyn quickly hiding behind her mother again.

"Hi Josslyn, my name's Ricky." He said as she peeked around her mother's leg, looking at him curiously.

"Hi." She said as Castle continued talking to her, Kate looking back up at Kristen.

"I know you're probably busy with your daughter but is there someplace we can talk privately?" She asked as Kristen nodded.

"Yeah, we can go into the living room but . . ." She began as suddenly Josslyn squealed in delight, both women looking down to see Castle making goofy faces at her, a smile tugging at Kate's lips.

"I can watch her while you two talk, if that's okay." Castle said as he placed his hands on his legs, standing up.

"You have a daughter Mr. Castle?" Kristen asked him as he nodded.

"I do." He said as he looked down at Josslyn, smiling wistfully.

"This was a good age but she passed it a long time ago. She's seventeen now." He said as he looked back up at Kristen.

"Ah . . . tough age." She said sympathetically.

"Yeah but she's a good kid. Hard to watch them grow up though." He said as she nodded before she turned to face her daughter, crouching down.

"Sweetie, mommy's just going to go talk to this nice police lady for a few minutes, okay? Think you can play with Ricky?" She asked Josslyn as Josslyn looked at Castle, who was making another funny face and she nodded her head happily.

"Uh huh." She said.

"Hey Josslyn, come here sweetie." He said as he crouched down, opening up his arms as she ran into them and he quickly scooped her up, placing her on his shoulders as she squealed with delight.

"Giyyup. . ." She instructed as the two of them took off, the sound of laughter fading away as soon they were out of hearing range.

"It's just right in here." Kristen said as she walked into the living room, Kate right behind her as Kristen turned around to face her.

"He's dead, isn't he?" She asked as Kate paused for a moment before nodding her head.

"I'm so sorry." She said softly as Kristen was biting her lip, eyes moist with tears.

"How?" She asked, voice quavering.

"It appears he was trying to prevent a mugging." Kate replied as Kristen placed her hands over her mouth, struggling to remain composed as she took a seat on a couch, tears rolling down her face.

"I told him not to. . .begged him to choose something else. . .anything but he insisted on being a cop. That stubborn. . ." She swallowed thickly as she swiped away the tears with her hands.

"I'm sorry. . ." She said, sniffling.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It's okay, take your time." Kate said gently as Kristen let out a deep breath, looking up at her.

"Everyone kept telling us we were too young but we didn't care, we loved each other. We met in grade ten, started dating, and by the time we were in grade 12 we knew we wanted to get married but our parents insisted on us waiting until we both had jobs, so we did. I went to school for two years for nursing, John went for policing. I got hired almost immediately after I graduated, so at nineteen I was a nurse. John wasn't getting hired because he was too young and so he decided to wait, getting a job in construction. As soon as he got the job he proposed." Kristen said a small smile on her face.

"We were engaged at nineteen, married at twenty, and had Josslyn soon after. She's just about three as John and I are turning twenty thre. . ." Kristen began but broke off, voice quavering as tears spilled down her face once more.

"He shouldn't have died. He . . . we need him." She managed to say, looking up at Kate.

"I just got laid off at the hospital because of the economy and I mean it's great because I get to spend more time with Josslyn but we're already swimming in debt on this house. John's salary was the only thing keeping us going. I don't know what I'm going to do." She said, voice trembling, runnng a hand through her hair.

"What about your parents? Both of them?" Kate asked gently.

"His parents hate me and they're going to hate me even more, now that he's dead. They think I took their son away, tricked him into getting married so young." Kristen said bitterly.

"And yours?" Kate asked.

"I don't know. . . I guess I can try, but they weren't thrilled with us either. I guess I don't really have a choice now, do I?" She said.

"I think that they were just trying to look out for the two of you at the time and I'm sure once they know what's going on, they'll help." Kate said as Kristen managed a smile.

"I hope so. This is just . . . unbelievable, I can't believe he's gone. He just started as an officer. I know he wanted to help people, to make a difference and I get that but what about us? His family? I know it's selfish of me but he was my husband and a father to our daughter . . . it's just not fair that he was taken from us." She said, voice full of emotion as Kate nodded her head, looking Kristen in the eyes.

"I know what it's like to loose someone you love and you're right, it isn't fair. It's not, they didn't deserve it, to have this happen to them and we didn't deserve to have them taken from us. It's the not the way life is suppose to happen, but sometimes it just does and we can't stop it. What we can do is remember them, to honor their memories, know how much they loved us and how much we loved them. Your husband cared so much about you and your daughter. You should know that he was holding onto a picture of you and Josslyn when he died." Kate said softly as a sob escaped from Kristen's lips, her chin trembling as her shoulders were shaking.

"He was such. . .an amazing husband and father. Does this. . .does this get any easier? Does this pain ever go away?" She asked between sobs.

"I'd like to say yes but I'd by lying. Over time, it will become a little easier as the pain is less overwhelming then it is at this moment, but it's still there. . .the pain stays with you, never really going away, not completely. Loosing someone you love is extremely painful, it's not something you can just get over or instantly forget about. I know because I still struggle with that pain every day, but the thing is .. you learn to manage the pain, to live with it, because there's no other choice other then letting it overwhelm you but that is not what they would want for you." Kate said softly as Kristen looked up at her.

"You. . .lost someone. . . who?" She asked.

"My mother. She was killed when I was younger." Kate said.

"I'm sorry." Kristen said softly as Kate let out a deep breath, giving her a sad smile.

"Me too. I know things will be hard at first, but someday, it will be better." She said.

"Thank you detective. I mean it, you didn't have to do this. . .talk with me. You could have just informed me and been on your way, and . . . I just appreciate the fact that you stayed. Not many people would." Kristen said.

"I know what you're going through and sometimes, you just need someone to talk about it. It wasn't a problem and I promise you, we will find the man who did this." Kate said firmly as the two of them walked towards the hallway.

"Thank you detective, I mean it." She said genuinely as Kate nodded.

" Castle!" Kate called out as seconds later Castle reappeared in the doorway, Josslyn still on his shoulders as in one swift motion, he had gently placed her on the ground.

"Did you have a good time with Ricky?" Kristen asked as she picked up her daughter, resting her on her hip as Josslyn nodded.

"He's funny like daddy. Where's daddy?" She asked innocently, looking up at Kirsten as Kate felt her throat tightening with emotion.

"He had to go away sweetie. Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate it. Say bye to the nice detectives." Kristen said as Josslyn waved her hand furiously at them.

"Bye!" She said as Castle smiled.

"Bye sweetie." He said as the two of them walked out the door, closing it behind them as Kate exhaled deeply.

"You okay?" Castle asked as they walked down the steps, noticing she looked a little rattled.

"I just want this bastard found. That poor girl is was struggling enough as it is and now she has to raise a child on her own. . . I don't know how you did it Castle." She said as they headed towards the car.

"It was hard but my mother was a big help. Can't take all the credit." He said.

"Well, when I saw you playing with the little girl it was cute. You were really sweet." She said as she turned to look at him, a big grin growing across his face as she realized she'd just inflated his ego and she cleared her throat.

"It was nice to see you playing with a child instead of acting like one." She added hastily as he pretended to look hurt.

"Hey, I . . ." Castle began to protest but Kate's cell phone suddenly went off and she quickly answered it.

"Beckett." She replied.

"Hey boss." Esposito's voice answered.

"Please tell me you guys have gotten somewhere." She said.

"No such luck. The woman who called in the mugging used a pay phone just down the corner and the witnesses we interviewed all said they heard the gunshots but didn't see anything." He said.

"Of course they didn't. Alright, check with CSU, see if they've found anything. Castle and I will go check in with Lanie." She instructed as they hung up.

"They didn't find her?" Castle asked as she shook her head.

"She didn't use a cell phone. She called on a pay phone." Kate said as she looked at him.

"Okay, that doesn't make sense. Her husband was being attacked and she has the time to run to a pay phone? That and the fact that they haven't reported the crime yet's a little weird. Like they don't want to be found. Something's off" He said as she nodded.

"Agreed. Let's go see Lanie and see what she has to tell us." Kate said.


End file.
